Torn Together
by Jedi Trace
Summary: A Talon Karrde and Shada D'ukal romance vignette. Rated M for violence and adult situations.


**Title**: Torn Together  
**Author**: Jedi Trace  
**Rating**: M for violence and adult situations  
**Timeframe**: Four years after the HoT duology  
**Characters**: Shada D'ukal, Talon Karrde, Chin, H'sishi, OCs  
**Genre**: Drama, action, romance   
**Keywords**: Vignette, canon speculation  
**Summary**: I'm terrible at summaries, so I'll just say this is an attempt to explain Shada's reason for becoming Karrde's "business partner" between SQ and the NJO.

**Disclaimer**: Not mine. Just borrowing Tim Zahn's action figures and playing in George's sandbox.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Shada D'ukal had never had the pleasure of visiting the Outer Rim system of Mon Gazza before and, after today, she hoped never to have the pleasure again. It was, quite possibly, the most impoverished and destitute world she had ever seen. Children ran half-clothed in the streets, picking pockets and returning the loot to ill-concealed criminals who flaunted their depravity in broad daylight. Blaster holes dotted the duracrete walls of every building and she spotted suspicious remains more than once in the dim alleyways.

How Talon Karrde, a former smuggler himself, had come to garner a contact on this world she could only image. They had made their rendezvous in a small, one-room apartment housed over a spare-parts shop. Pleasantries, liquor, money, and information exchanged, Shada had hoped to depart at the meeting's end, but Karrde insisted on taking her to dinner. 

Now, seated across the table from him in the Speedway Café, Shada glanced up when he ordered a "bottle of your best" from the serving droid.

"What's the occasion?" she asked, tapping her order into the datapad on the wall.

Karrde cocked an eyebrow. "Our 'anniversary', if you will. Four years to the day since you signed on to work for me."

Shada opened her mouth and closed it again, feeling her cheeks warm under his pointed attention. "And when did we start celebrating this event?"

The serving droid arrived with the bottle and poured a burgundy liquid into almost-clean glasses. Karrde lifted his glass with a genteel nod. "Today," he said warmly, clinking his glass against hers. 

Shada took a sip and, though certainly not the best she'd ever had, the liquor wasn't entirely offensive. Her cheeks were still warm and she turned self-consciously to gaze out of the window. Only in Karrde's presence did she blush, an occurrence that irritated her as much as, she suspected, it amused him.

The café was built into the side of what appeared to be an old speedway. An occasional tier of what was once spectator stands dotted the perimeter, no doubt housing all manner of illegal activities in their darkened crevices.

"Strange place for a restaurant," she commented casually.

"Used to be an old pod racing track. Before the Empire outlawed the sport, it was where the spice miners spent their spare change."

Shifting her gaze to his rugged profile, she couldn't help but smile. Other than the locals, she doubted anyone but Talon Karrde would know the background of this hole-in-the-wall café. He smiled back and Shada realized, not for the first time, that her mouth had gone dry with that simple turn of his lips.

Their meals arrived and she waited for the serving droid to leave before leaning forward to ask quietly, "Do you want me to taste it first?"

"Why?" Karrde looked up, untroubled. "Do you suspect poisoning?"

Shada caught the slight reproach in his voice and mentally chastised herself. Transitioning from her former career as a Mistryl Shadow Guard to her role of Karrde's lieutenant was still proving to be an adjustment. She shook her head 'no', but everything about this system reeked of treachery and her battle-toned instincts flared to life of their own volition.

She returned to her food, stating simply, "You can never be too careful. I wouldn't trust anyone here as far as I could throw them."

Karrde set down his glass with a wry grin. "You could throw some of them quite a distance, I think. But not to worry. As soon as we're done, we'll meet up with Chin and H'sishi and be on our way," Karrde finished smoothly.

Taking a few hesitant bites of her thick stew, Shada detected no chemical aftertaste and had finished half the bowl when Karrde put down his utensils and pushed his plate away.

"Have you given any thought to Mara's offer?" he asked.

Shada swirled a piece of fing root around with her spoon. Karrde's former second-in-command, Mara Jade Skywalker, had finally separated herself completely from her duties to Karrde and was now looking for someone to take over the small remnant of her independent business in order to devote herself full-time to the Jedi Order. She had originally made the proposal several months ago, but Shada had yet to make a decision.

"I have. We talked about it again just last month," Shada acknowledged. "I think she's anxious to fill the position, since she and Luke want to start a family."

Karrde sputtered uncharacteristically, "Is that so?"

Shada grinned. For once, she knew something her renowned employer didn't. "Yes," she answered smugly. "But don't tell her that I told you. I'd rather not face that Zenji needle tongue of hers." 

"Wise woman," he conceded, wiping his face with a napkin. 

Looking down at her hands, Shada composed her next thought carefully. "You have built an impressive business over the past few years. We've both put a lot of work into it, work that I have enjoyed, and I have to tell you that my primary reservation about accepting Mara's offer is that it would require a good deal of time away from your organization."

"Not necessarily," he countered quickly. "If we incorporated, you could be my business partner."

"_Business partner?_" Shada was surprised. "It sounds like you've put some thought into this." 

Karrde shrugged diffidently, glancing down at his napkin now on the table. "I believe it could be a lucrative endeavor." He paused, as if intending to speak further, but pointed to her bowl instead. "Are you finished?"

Shada indicated that she was while her thoughts lingered on what he had just said. Though he appeared noncommittal, his tone of voice and hesitant eye contact made her wonder about the intentions behind his suggestion.

After the tab had been paid, Karrde stood and offered his arm. Maintaining her cover role of paramour, she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and followed his lead, straightening the short shirt of her one-piece dress as they exited the café.

The sun had almost set as they traversed five blocks of polluted streets to reach the equally-dingy hangar bay in which the _Wild Karrde_ was docked. The landing ramp was already lowered as Chin and H'sishi made final preparations for departure.

"Ready to go?" 

"Almost set, boss," Chin answered. The older gentleman secured a supply chest and was motioning for H'sishi to grab the other end, when an unfamiliar voice boomed from behind:

_"Talon Karrde!"_

Shada and Karrde spun around to find the entryway blocked by a hulking human male with five equally-imposing men on either side of him. All were armed with blasters and those blasters were pointed directly at Karrde.

Shada felt his arm tense beneath her palm, but he made no outward sign of emotion. "Speaking," he answered calmly. "And who, may I ask, do I have the pleasure of addressing?"

The foremost man grinned maliciously. "You can call me Dade. I work for an old friend of yours - Jerf Huxley."

Karrde acknowledged the name with a brief nod, but said nothing. For her part, Shada made a quick assessment of the men and weapons confronting them.

Dade continued, "I am here to inform you that Huxley did not appreciate the way you sent your Jedi to destroy his cantina and he feels that he should be further compensated for his losses."

Karrde remained impassive. "As I recall, he was compensated – quite well, in fact. I sent my associate there in peace. _He_ picked a fight with _her._ Not a smart thing to do."

"My employer does not share your assessment of the events." The intruder seemed to notice Shada for the first time and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "That's not her, is it?"

"No. She's just decoration," Karrde answered flatly.

Shada took a step closer to her companion, widening her eyes in exaggerated fear, and Dade grunted, turning his attention back to Karrde. 

"Since I know better than to expect that you have large amounts of cash on hand, we'll start by unloading your cargo hold." He waved his hand forward and six of his lackeys headed for the _Wild Karrde's_ ramp. "A ship this size carries, what? Six months worth of supplies --

Tell your people _not to move!_" 

Behind them, Chin and H'sishi had drawn their weapons to intercept the intruders, but Karrde shook his head. "Stand down," he said firmly. The loss of cargo would be expensive, but not worth the loss of life. The crew of the _Wild Karrde_ stood immobile as they were stripped of their weapons.

The four remaining men spread out, brandishing their blasters, as Dade stepped forward. "The sale of the cargo will pay Huxley," he drawled with an ominous sneer. "But I want a cut of my own. And I have learned from a very reliable source that you, Mr. Karrde, are the proprietor of the security contract for the upcoming Independent Worlds Summit." 

Karrde's jaw clenched visibly. The Independent Worlds Summit was an annual conference between leaders of systems who had not formally declared their loyalty to the New Republic or the Imperial Remnant. Hundred of leaders and political figureheads from all major parties would be there, along with thousands of press and civilian agents.

Every year, at least one guerilla outfit attempted to sabotage the Summit, claiming to seek justice for their home world or revenge for real or perceived wrongs against any number of species. As such, the security detail was rigorous, fierce…and expensive.

The mercenary's scarred face was only centimeters from Karrde's when he pulled a jagged vibroblade from his belt and pressed it to the former smuggler's cheek. "You give me the access codes to that security detail, Mr. Karrde, and I'll leave you and your crew unharmed."

Shada glanced back and forth between the two of them. A security breach of that magnitude would endanger the entire population of the Summit, including a great many of Karrde's personal friends and associates along with world leaders and innocent attendees.

Karrde stared at him, unflinching. "You know I cannot do that."

A snake of true fear began to worm through Shada's gut as two of the men surrounding them moved forward and grabbed Karrde roughly from behind. The man at her side sheathed his blaster and stepped around her to help hold their target steady.

Grasping a handful of Karrde's hair with one hand, Dade pressed the blade into his cheek, drawing a red line down Karrde's face. "Then we'll do this the hard way."

Karrde glared at his opponent in silence and Shada took advantage of the distraction to subtly position herself in a combat stance, then waited until the blade was no longer digging into Karrde's cheek before she struck. Pivoting on her heel, she knocked the blade from Dade's hand and temporarily immobilized him with a powerful knee to the spleen.

Unprepared for an attack from the "decoration," the henchmen fumbled for a second, but it was a second that Shada used to her advantage. Striking the closest one first, he fell to the floor with fragments of the bridge of his nose imbedded in his brain.

Moving just as fast, Karrde jerked free of the men restraining his arms, punching one squarely in the gut before planting his elbow in the breastbone of the second. Shada was peripherally aware of Chin and H'sishi fighting two of the men who had been unloading cargo as she dropped one attacker with a bone-shattering kick to the calf and snapped the neck of another. 

Karrde was wrestling with the remaining attacker and therefore did not see Dade rising to his feet to grab him from behind. Shada moved in but Dade pressed his retrieved blade to Karrde's neck, shouting, "STOP!"

Shada froze.

"One more move from you, woman, and I'll slit his throat," Dade panted, digging the vibroblade deeper into Karrde's skin. 

"_Careful of the vornskr,_ Shada," Karrde called to her. "Do as he says."

"Quiet!" Dade spat, motioning his subordinates forward. "Hold her!" Dropping the cargo crates, they seized her arms with bruising strength, one on each side. Dade waited until she had been immobilized before releasing Karrde, but instructed the remaining two men to keep him in their blaster sites. 

Squaring his shoulders, Dade brushed the dirt from his clothes and approached slowly to stand in front of Shada. He looked her over, lingering at the curves revealed by her fitted dress, and turned to Karrde. "Very nice 'decoration' you have here." 

"Don't you touch her," Karrde growled, eyes blazing, ignoring the blasters pointed directly at his chest.

Dade grinned, bearing chipped, brown teeth. "I'm afraid that's exactly what I'll have to do, Mr. Karrde. Unless you _talk_…of course."

Shada trained her eyes on Karrde's, mouthing the words: _Don't do it._

He stared back, his strong face contorted with pain and resignation. Holding his gaze, she glanced quickly toward H'sishi. Karrde had given the "vornskr" command phrase to activate the _Wild Karrde's_ external defense system and, in the commotion, H'sishi had triggered the remote buried in the fur of her wrist without detection. It would take the system four minutes to boot up and, whatever Dade had in mind, Shada was sure she could handle it for four minutes.

"I'll be okay," she said, even as Dade grasped the top of her dress and began running his vibroblade slowly down the front, slicing the fabric open. The gown fell away, followed immediately by her undergarments as they were also cut away.

Dade leered at her naked form, saying nothing as his men murmured suggestively. Chin and H'sishi turned away but Karrde's eyes never left hers. He did not look down or at the men threatening her, instead he held her with his eyes until Dade turned her around and shoved her face-first against the wall.

"And the view is just as nice from behind," Dade commented, pushing her long black hair over her shoulder to expose her backside completely. "Last chance, Karrde. Give me those access codes or I'll engrave your name on your little trophy here."

Karrde's voice trembled with rage. "You will regret this."

Three minutes. Shada closed her eyes, bracing herself. Rough hands held her in place as the vibroblade sliced into her back. Clenching her teeth, she concentrated on counting down the minutes, determined not to give him the satisfaction of screaming.

"K. Your name does start with a 'K,' doesn't it?" Dade asked, drawing out the question as slow as he was drawing his blade. "And is it one 'r' or two?"

"Damn you!" Karrde grunted behind her, as if struggling against restraints.

Two minutes. Shada began to shake, gasping in pain. She could feel blood dripping down her back and legs.

Dade continued coolly, "And does your name end with 'd' or 'de'? I'll go with 'de'…because I'm enjoying watching her squirm."

Shada only heard Karrde's curse and then a sickening punch to silence him.

One minute. Tears streamed down Shada's face, splashing to the floor to mix with the blood pooling at her feet. She was starting to feel dizzy. Thirty seconds…

"Still not talking, Karrde? I guess we're moving onto your first name, then. But I don't think it will fit across her back. We'll have to do in on the front --"

With a single peal of warning, a flash of light exploded from the direction of the _Wild Karrde_ as the external defense guns dropped from the hull, spraying blaster fire in an outward arc.

The men released her with shouts of outrage and Shada collapsed to the floor, ducking beneath the blaster fire. Blinking through clouds of tears, she backed against the wall, careful not to let her shredded skin touch the filthy stone. Karrde, Chin and H'sishi were also lying low, scrambling to retrieve blasters from the bodies of fallen attackers.

Once armed, Karrde deactivated the external device with the remote on his belt and went straight for Dade with murderous intent in his eyes. A brief firefight - and only the crew of the _Wild Karrde_ was left standing.

Shouting for Chin and H'sishi to get aboard, Karrde ran to her and knelt down, pulling off his jacket. "Hang in there, Shada," he panted, covering her with his jacket. His face was bruised and blood streaked down from his cheek, and she'd ever seen him so angry…or worried.

He fumbled not to put pressure on her wounds, but with the cuts covering most of her back, it could not be avoided. Finally succumbing to the pain, her world tilted and went black as he lifted her into his arms. 

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Waking slowly from an analgesic-induced haze, Shada blinked in the dim light and stirred on the familiar sheets of her bed. She was lying face down, the scent of bacta still lingering on her skin.

"_Shada._" 

She turned her head at the gravelly voice to see Karrde rising from a straight-back chair to kneel beside her bed. His face was pale and haggard with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, brushing hair from her forehead with trembling fingers. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't tell him --"

"I know. Don't worry about it," she answered, rising shakily to sit on the side of the bed, grateful that the movement did not cause pain. "I'd have kicked your ass myself if you'd given him those codes." Her voice was hoarse and Karrde got up quickly to pour her a glass of water from the cooler. "How long was I in the tank?"

"Three days," he answered. "The bacta healed the wounds, but you still have faint scars. We're headed to Coruscant and I've already arranged for you to see the best cosmetic surgeon at the medical university."

Shada stood, swaying slightly before regaining her balance, and made her way to the refresher. Turning so that she could see her back in the mirror, she dropped her robe enough to reveal the faint lines still etched in her skin. It would probably heal completely on its own but she knew Karrde would insist on her seeing the surgeon.

"You didn't have to do that," she said, pulling her robe back on as she joined him in the bedroom. "Unless you're serious about that 'decoration' label. In which case --"

She was looking down as she re-tied her robe and ran into him, not realizing that he was now standing in the middle of the room. "Ooph…sorry."

To her surprise, he didn't move and reached down instead to take her hands. "Shada, I – I need to tell you something," he started, looking nervously into her eyes. "I," he swallowed. "You might know already, but I have…_admired_ you for a long time."

Her pulse tripped at the intensity of his gaze. "Yes."

"But I did not realize, until this happened, that -" He swallowed again, taking a deep breath. "I have never said this to any woman before, but...I love you." He cupped her cheek tenderly in his palm, his blue eyes made even brighter by the shadows beneath them. "I love you, Shada D'ukal."

She felt her heart stop and restart again for, until this moment, she had not admitted her own feelings for this man that she had adored for so long.

He looked away, releasing her with stoic composure. "I'll understand if this makes things awkward, and if you feel --"

Closing the distance between them, she silenced him by pressing her lips firmly against his mouth and was enveloped instantly in his arms, wrapped in a powerful embrace.

His lips were soft and warm, molding to hers as she threaded her fingers through his gray-streaked hair and caressed the firm muscles rippling beneath his shirt. "I love you, too, Talon," she whispered between kisses, tracing the outline of his beard with slender fingers.

He looked down, stroking her face. "Part of me died, watching him hurt you." His voice broke as he held her tightly in his arms. "I should have stopped them. I should have fought harder --"

"Hush! He'd have killed you," she answered fiercely. "Blades are nothing. But you..." She drew his face down, kissing just above the still-fresh scar on his cheek. "I could not bear to lose you."

He slid his hand behind her neck, claiming her mouth again, and she had never dreamed that she could feel so delightfully overwhelmed - so impossibly complete as she did now in his arms.

"Touch me," she breathed, though he hardly needed her encouragement as his strong hands traced the outlines of her skin through the silky fabric of her robe. Swaying slowly, she guided him to her bed; and only the sound of discarded garments broke the silence of their private dance.

She leaned back when his kisses traveled down her neck, moaning softly when the tender pressure reached her pulse point. He started to lower her onto the bed and stopped suddenly, "Your back."

"It doesn't hurt," she assured him, pulling his body on top of hers. Her skin burned under his sensual weight, her back arching under his heated touch. Warm energy began to spread below her belly and she wrapped her legs around his thighs, urging him closer.

His musky, masculine scent drove her wild and she flipped him over onto his back, running her palms down the hard planes of his chest. Venturing lower, her hands grew damp as she beheld his waiting manhood for the first time. She looked up to find him watching her carefully and she grinned, biting her lower lip in anticipation.

Crawling back up his body, she lavished his chest, his neck, his lips with hot kisses as he clutched her hair, reciting her name huskily. "I want you," she murmured into his salty skin.

Framing her face with his hands, he gazed up at her in unspoken invitation and she lowered herself down, joining him in exquisite union. The low lighting highlighted his chiseled profile, glistening with a sheen of passion as he ran his hands up her thighs and around her waist, guiding her in a rhythm of mutual pleasure.

Her climax came unexpectedly, crashing through her and ripping a cry of delight from her throat, and she continued their fervent coupling until Talon's shouts echoed her own. Easing them down gradually, she draped herself across his slick chest, panting to the tempo of his pounding heart. 

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

The chrono beside her bed blinked in the half-lit room, ignored.

"What's this one?" Shada asked. Lying in the crook of his arm, she traced the outline of an intricate tattoo on his bicep.

"Old smuggler's crest," he answered. "From the days of my youth." 

"Hmm…" She slid her foot down his calf beneath the covers, pointing to a band around his forearm. "And this one?" 

He looked down, acknowledging it with an abashed grin. "Ah, too much Whyren's Reserve, I'm afraid."

She laughed lightly, running her finger over an unfamiliar name tattooed on the left side of his chest, above his heart. "And this?"

He paused, following the path of her finger with his own. "I had a brother. He died, many years ago."

"I didn't know that," she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

He ran his hand through her long, loose hair. "It's all right."

She leaned into his caress, resting her head on his shoulder. She was lost in the musky scent of his skin when his voice rumbled from his chest, "I'm afraid we have a problem, my sweet."

"Already?" she murmured.

He rose up on one elbow with a look of awkward consternation. "I have a personal policy never to become romantically involved with employees."

"Well, it's a little late for that," she teased, poking his leg with her toe. "But that problem is fixed easily enough. I quit."

He blinked, sitting up a little higher. "Just like that?"

"Don't look so surprised. It was your idea," she retorted. "If I accept Mara's offer, we can incorporate and become business partners. Which, I suspect, is something you've been plotting for some time now."

He smiled in mock-chagrin. "My secret is out." 

Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him back down into the sheets. "You're not even going to try to deny it, are you?" 

He shook his head, hovering over her in an affectionate embrace. "I am a man who recognizes fortune when he sees it and you, my dear – my _love_ – are a treasure." 

-End-


End file.
